Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews may not be a finalist for the Hart Trophy, but he is in the running for his second Ted Lindsay Award in the past three seasons.
The NHL Players’ Association revealed its finalists for the award on Wednesday, with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon joining Matthews in the top three.
The Ted Lindsay is given out to the most outstanding player as voted on by members of the NHLPA.
While Kucherov and MacKinnon are also finalists for the Hart — league’s version of a most-valuable player award — Matthews did not make that list, which is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. This time it’s Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who was the third finalist for the Hart, who gets snubbed in voting by his peers.
Kucherov finished the season as the NHL leader in points, racking up career-bests in goals (44) and assists (100). Only Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux had dished out 100 assists in a season before Kucherov and McDavid reached the century mark in 2023-24.
The 30-year-old Russian forward won the Ted Lindsay in 2018-19 after a 128-point season, which also landed him the Hart Trophy.
Matthews led the NHL in scoring with a salary-cap era record 69 goals and set a new career high in points (107) at the same time. He won the Hart and Ted Lindsay following the 2021-22 season after scoring 60 goals. Matthews is also a finalist for the Selke Trophy and Lady Byng Trophy this season.
MacKinnon set career highs across the board this season, with 51 goals, 89 assists and 140 points. The 28-year-old Avalanche forward had the best plus/minus of all of the finalists, finishing with a plus-35 mark.
The annual NHL awards show will be held on June 27 in Las Vegas, one day before the NHL Draft.
